character

character

[kar´ak-ter]

1. a quality or attribute indicative of the nature of an object or organism.

2. in genetics, an observable property of an organism that is under genetic control; a trait.

3. in psychiatry, a term used, especially in the psychoanalytic literature, in much the same way as personality, particularly for those personality traits shaped by life experiences and developmental processes. Compare temperament.

acquired character a noninheritable modification produced in an animal as a result of its own activities or of environmental influences.

character

a. The combination of mental characteristics and behavior that distinguishes a person or group.

b. The distinguishing nature of something.

2. Biology A structure, function, or attribute of an organism, influenced by genetic, environmental, and developmental factors.

char′ac·ter·less adj.

character

Etymology: Gk, charassein, to engrave

1 the integrated composite of traits and behavioral tendencies that enable a person to react in a relatively consistent way to the customs and mores of society. Character, as contrasted with personality, implies volition and morality. Compare personality.

2 any letter, number, symbol, or punctuation mark, usually composed of 8 bits or 1 byte, that can be transmitted as output by a computer. See also bit.

character

Psychiatry The sum of a person's relatively fixed personality traits and habitual modes of response. See Metacharacter, Personality.

char·ac·ter

(kar'ăk-tĕr)

An attribute in people that is amenable to formal and logical analysis and may be used as the basis of generalizations about classes and other statements that transcend individuality. Synonym(s): characteristic (1) .

[G. charaktēr, stamp, mark, fr. charassō, to engrave]

character

a genetic feature of an individual that can be assessed in some way Such features often appear in various alternative ‘forms’, each controlled by different ALLELES. For example, the height of a pea plant is a ‘character’, with tall plants (2 m high) and dwarf plants (0.3 m high) as alternative forms (see QUALITATIVE INHERITANCE). Characters sometimes display a continuous range of forms, as in human height, which may be influenced strongly by environmental conditions (see POLYGENIC INHERITANCE). See also MULTIPLE ALLELISM.

Character

An individual's set of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns learned and accumulated over time.

char·ac·ter

An attribute in individuals that is amenable to formal and logical analysis and may be used as the basis of generalizations about classes and other statements that transcend individuality.

[G. charakter, stamp, mark, fr. charassō, to engrave]

character,

n one of a set of elementary symbols that may be arranged in groups to express information. They may include the decimal digits 0 to 9, the letters A to Z, punctuation marks, operation symbols, and any other single symbol that a computer may read, store, or write.

character

a quality or attribute indicative of the nature of an object or an organism.

1. in genetics, the expression of a gene or group of genes as seen in a phenotype.

2. in wool the evenness of the crimp.

acquired character

a noninheritable modification produced in an animal as a result of its own activities or of environmental influences.

character data

alphanumeric data.

dominant character

a mendelian character that is expressed when it is transmitted by a single gene.

mendelian c's

in genetics, the separate and distinct traits exhibited by an animal or plant and dependent on the genetic constitution of the organism.

primary sex c's

those characters of the male and female directly concerned in reproduction.

recessive character

a mendelian character that is expressed only when transmitted by both genes (one from each parent) determining the trait.

secondary sex c's

those characters specific to the male and female but not directly concerned in reproduction.

sex-conditioned character, sex-influenced character

an autosomal trait whose full expression is conditioned by the sex of the individual, e.g. human baldness.

sex-linked character

one transmitted consistently to individuals of one sex only, being carried in the sex chromosome.

Patient discussion about character

Q. He sometimes says things that are out of character for him. My dear husband was diagnosed in Nov of last year with Bipolar. My question is, how do I know if the person I am dealing with is his or him illness? He sometimes says things that are out of character for him. Can anyone help me to comfort him?

A. Make sure to surround yourself with supportive people that will listen with open ears and have a shoulder you can cry on when you need to. It is important for partners to also have others to talk to and share with. This is a difficult illness to live with. Educate yourself about the illness and the best ways that you can help your husband and yourself. You are already taking the first steps in joining this group. We are happy to help out. Know that you are not alone...If you ever need to talk please feel free to message me. I check this site a few times a day.Take care!

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